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Untraceable
Untraceable is a 2008 American crime thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit and starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was distributed by Screen Gems. Set in Portland, Oregon, the film involves a serial killer who rigs contraptions that kill his victims based on the number of hits received by a website KillWithMe.com that features a live streaming video of the victim. Millions of people log on, hastening the victims' deaths. Plot Special Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is a widowed single parent living in a suburban Portland home with her daughter, Annie Haskins (Perla Haney-Jardine), and her mother, Stella Marsh (Mary Beth Hurt). At night, she works in the FBI's cybercrime division with Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks), fighting identity theft and similar crimes. One night, an anonymous tip leads them to a website called KillWithMe.com. The site features a streaming video of a cat being tortured and killed. The website cannot be shut down, as the creator knew that someone would try and built into it a fail-safe; every time the server is closed, a mirror server immediately replaces it. After the cat's death, KillWithMe.com's webmaster graduates to human victims, kidnapping them and placing them in death traps that are progressively activated by the number of hits the website receives. The first victim is a helicopter pilot (bled to death by injections of anticoagulant), followed by a newscaster (burnt to death by heat lamps while cemented into the floor). At a press conference, the public is urged to avoid the website, but as Jennifer feared this only increases the site's popularity. Griffin is kidnapped after investigating a lead based on his hunch as to the killer's identity and receiving a phone call from the killer disguising his voice and posing as one of Griffin's jilted blind dates. In the killer's basement, he is submerged up to his neck in a vat of water with his mouth taped shut; the death trap introduces into the water a concentration of sulfuric acid. After the killer leaves the room, Griffin uses his dying moments to blink a message in morse code, giving the FBI the lead he was following up on. Jennifer follows up on the morse code message to discover that the victims were not random: they were involved in broadcasting or presenting the suicide of a junior college teacher. The teacher's unstable techno prodigy son, Owen Reilly (Joseph Cross), broke down and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. When released, he decided to take revenge and prove a point: that the public's interest in the suffering of others is insatiable, as well as to wreak vengeance on those he felt had exploited his father's death. The police raid Owen's house but he is not present. Owen has been following Jennifer because he is now obsessed with her. He captures and places Jennifer in a makeshift death trap: hanging her above a cultivator and progressively lowering her to her death. Jennifer escapes by swinging out of the way while dangling from the ceiling. She breaks free and pins down the murderer, fatally shooting Owen on his own website as the police arrive. Jennifer displays her FBI badge to the webcam. The chatter in the website's chat room dwindles, statements being made such as "a genius died today" as well as "glad the killer is dead" and another one saying "You go girl!", and a final comment asking whether the video could be downloaded. Cast * Diane Lane as FBI Agent Jennifer Marsh * Colin Hanks as FBI Agent Griffin Dowd * Billy Burke as Detective Eric Box * Joseph Cross as Owen Reilly * Mary Beth Hurt as Stella Marsh * Tyrone Giordano as Tim Wilkes * Perla Haney-Jardine as Annie Haskins * Christopher Cousins as David Williams * Tim De Zarn as Herbert Miller * Peter Lewis as Richard Brooks * Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Arthur James Elmer * Dax Jordan as Scotty Hillman * John Breen as Richard Weymouth * Brynn Baron as Mrs. Miller * Phil Hamilton as Mr. Miller Production The film was shot in and around Portland, Oregon. A temporary studio was constructed in Clackamas, Oregon, where all non-location photography was done, mostly interiors, including the FBI's cyber division, Jennifer Marsh's house, the FBI building elevator, several basements, etc. A scene set on the east end of the Broadway Bridge was shot both on the actual bridge as well as at the studio. A faux diner was built underneath the Broadway bridge, which was used in the movie. The birthday party for Perla Haney-Jardine's character Annie was filmed in the roller skating rink of Oaks Amusement Park. References Category:2008 films Category:2000s thriller films Category:American thriller films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Films scored by Christopher Young Category:Films directed by Gregory Hoblit Category:Films about computing Category:Films shot in Portland, Oregon Category:Films set in Portland, Oregon Category:Police detective films Category:Serial killer films Category:Lakeshore Entertainment films Category:Screen Gems films Category:Snuff films in fiction Category:Techno-thriller films Category:Films produced by Gary Lucchesi Category:Universal Pictures films